Feeler mechanism for looms



E. S. STIMPSON. FEELER MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FlLED DEC-26,1919.

Patented June 7, 3.923

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ice.

EDWARD S. STIMPSON', OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER CORPORATION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FEELER MECHANISM FOR LOOIVES.

Application filedDeceniber 26, 1919. Serial No. 347,322.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. SrIMrsoN, of Hopedale, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new Feeler Mechanism for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is an improvement upon the feeler mechanism set forth in United States Letters Patent No. 1,309,226, July 8, 1919, and consists in a new feeler ti i In the type of laterally slipping feeler disclosed in said patent, it is important that the teeth of the feeler tip should cling to the weft so as to prevent premature side slipping under all conditions of the weft winding. Unless this is the case the bob- I bins may be ejected while still carrying a large amount of weft. At the same time, the teeth must freely and with certainty slip along the bare bobbin so that the functional side slip will take place when demanded. Also, the tip organization should be such that the weft will not be cut and that the bobbin will not be scratched or marred.

It is also important that the feeler tip itself should be readily attached to and removed from the feeler arm. The feeler tip is subject to, a succession of rapid blows continuously repeated and hence wears out and.

requires replacement. It has been common to attach a feeler tip to a feeler arm by means of ascrew but such screws are liable to jar loose, so that other means of attachment are desirable.

The present improvements consist in a readily attachable and detachable feeler tip not requiring the employment of a screw or any other separate attaching device, and this tip is provided with an improved tooth construction which adequately clings to the;

weft when in contact therewith, and slips reliably upon a bare bobbin without scratching or marring the same.

The improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which F igure' 1, is a plan view of the feeler mechanism. Fig. 2, is a plan view of the feeler tip on an enlarged scale showing the same engaged by the weft on the bobbin.

Fig. 3, is a plan view of the feeler tip on an enlarged scale illustrating the side slip of the feeler tip on the bare surface of the bobbin. Fig. 4, is a vertical section in the plane indicated by the line 4+4 in Fig.2. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the feelertip detached. Figs. 7 and 8. are detail views of the rear end of the feeler arm illustrat ing its construction which enables the feeler tip to be readily attached to and detached therefrom.

The side slipping feeler arm A, is similar in construction and mode of operation to that of the feeler arm set forth in the said Patent No. 1,309,226. The present improvements relate solely tothe feeler tip B, and the means for connecting it to the feeler arm.

The feeler tip VB is made of spring sheet steel which is bent into shape to straddle the rear end of the feeler arm, and the bend of the tip is out to constitute the teeth D. This construction is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The sheet steel is'first'cut in shape to produce the illustrated form of the feeler tip and it is then bent upon itself to form the upper and lower legs 10 and 11. It is desirable, as shown in Fig. 4, that the two legs should be inclined toward each other, with their ends nearer together than the legs are at the uniting bend. With this construction, it is necessary to spread the free ends of the legs apart to slip the tip upon the feeler arm. Then, when the feeler arm is in place, as shown in Fig. 4, the resilience of the metal of the tip causes the legs to grip the feeler arm frictionally and snugly. One of the legs is formed with inwardly extending locking studs 12 formed by forcing the metal of the leg inwardly as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. As shown, it is the lower leg 11 which is provided with the locking studs. These projections cooperate with recesses 13 in one side of the feeler arm, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. In case the locking studs are on the lower leg of the tip these recesses 13 are on the lower side of the feeler arm, as shown in Fig. 9. To facilitate the engagement of the studs and recesses the feeler arm is formed with a tapering longitudinal groove 14. This groove extends from the forward recess 13 rearwardly to the extreme rear end of the feeler arm, and intersects the rear recess 13, as shown in F ig.'7. This groove widens and deepens from the forward recess 13 to the rearend of the feeler arm, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7 Patented June 7,1921.

The depth of the groove at the rear end of the feeler arm is approximately equal to the height-of the studs 12 above the upper surface of the lower tip leg 11. The feeler tip is placed upon the arm A by slipping it endwise upon the rear end of the arm.

-The open ends of thelegs are sprung apart so as to straddle the rear end of the arm.

The tip is then pushed forwardly so that the studs 12 successively enter the deep mouth of the groove 14:. The studs as they follow the shallowing groove during the'for- ,ward push of the feeler tip spread the legs apart until both studs register with their respective recesses whereupon the projections snap into the recesses owing to the resilience of the tip. It will be noted that the recesses are conical and. the studs are hemi-spherical, so that whenboth studs reg- Accordingly,

ister with their respective recesses there is a close fit between each stud and-its recess. the tip is firmly and securely feeler arm. At the same time,

held upon the these shapes of the recesses and studs render it simple for the leading, projection to ride past the rear recess as'the t1p 1s shd into place. p 1

During the running of the loom, there is no danger of the tip being displacedon the arm. Thefblows of the weftupon the bobbin are in the same direction. as the movement which unites the tip with the arm. Accordingly, there is no tendency for these blows to displace the tip. Since there is a plurality of spaced locking studs on the tip cooperating with correspondingly spaced recesses in the feeler arm any tendency to skewthe tip on the arm during the lateral slip of the arm is efiectually resisted. The union between the tip and the arm is due to the presence of reciprocally and mutually engaging integral locking studs and recesses formed in the parts themselves; and, accordingly, thereis no extraneous or separate fastening elements such as a screw which might work loose and permit the tip to become accidentally detached.

Nevertheless, when thetip is so worn that it should be removed, it is easily detached from the feeler arm. By spreading apart the two resilient legs of the tip, the studs 12 are readily disengaged from the recesses 13 and the tip can then beremoved. No special tools are required to either attach or remove the tip. I

The uniting bend between the two legs of the tip is substantially semi-cylindrical with the axis of the cyllnder extending hori 1 zontally and parallel with the axis of the thus convex weft upon the tip bobbin G and the axis on which the lay T The rear end of the feeler tip is toward the weft H and bobbin, 4, so that the blow of the gives the efiect of depress ing the mass of the weft as exaggeratedly swings.

as shown in Fig.

shown in Fig. 4:. The weft engaging teeth D are formed at the rear end of the tip by slits 15 cut in the rear bent end of the tip.

There is a plurality of these slits, as illustrated so that several teeth 7 are formed. These slits 15 are inclined with respect to the upper and lower surfaces of the tip, as shown in Fig. 6, and the slits are such as would be made with a saw with flat parallel sides- The result is that each tooth D is blunt along horizontal lines, it fis pointed.

along vertical lines due'to the curvature of the rear end of thetip, it is'inclined'between top and bottom, and it has square edges.

Also, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the

rear end of the tip is curved along hori zontal lines so that the rear ends of the :teeth are arranged in a horizontally extending arc of a circle, so that the rear ends of the teeth are at varying distances from the cylindrical surface of the bobbin, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In the normal position of the feeler arm, shown in Figsfl and 2,the middle teeth ofthe tipare nearer the axis of the bobbin than the teeth at either end of the horizontally extending[arc.' Theeffect of this tooth'constru'ction is that the teeth sink-into the'mass ofthe weft along bothhorizontal and vertical lines "as eXaggeratedly shown in Figs. 2 and e respectively. Hence, when weft is present the teeth cling to the weft and prevent the feeler arm moving laterally under the impact or frontward push of the bobbin. The teeth cannot cut the weft because the teeth are blunt and because they extend diagonally so This cooperating feeler -mechanism is the same as that of the aforesaid Patent No. 1,309,226, and hence requires but brief reference. The feeler arm A; is mounted on a.

bracket 1, attached to lateral extensional of the breast beam. A rock shaft=K is journaledto the forward end of the braclretturning on a vertical axis. L This rock shaft has a through aperture throughwhichthe front end of the feeler arm extends and slides.

Toward its rear end the feeler'arm extends through abroad passageway in the bracket, the margins of this passageway being-indicated by the dotted lines L, L. The topof this passageway is closed by a cap M, which with the bottom of the bracket confines the feeler arm against vertical movement. Secured to the feeler arm near itsmiddle is a slide N which slides on horizontal ways 0, of the bracket. A spring Q surrounds the feeler arm between the slide N and rock shaft K, and normally holds the feeler arm in its rearward position with the slide against the shoulders of the bracket which support the cap M. The feeler arm is also maintained by the spring against the outer (left hand) wall L of the rear passageway. The rock shaft K is offset laterally and outwardly with respect to the rear passageway so that the feeler arm stands at an angle to the fore and aft swing of the lay and the bobbin (or the weft thereon) and encounters the ti along a fore and aft path nearer the tip 0 the bobbin than a parallel path intersecting the rocksha'ft. So long as the weft on the bobbin encounters the teeth of the tip the resistance thus offered prevents any side slipping of the tip lengthwise of the bobbin. Accordingly, as the lay moves forward after the first encounter of the weft with the tip there is no slipping of the tip on the weft; but during the completion of the forward movement of the bobbin the feeler arm is moved forwardly compressing the spring Q. When the bobbin is bared opposite the feeler tip, the feeler tip slips laterally to the right and this movement is utilized to set in action the train of weft replenishing mechamsm.

This functional swing of the feeler arm under the impact of the bare bobbin causes the feeler arm to encounter a controller X and move it laterally inward. This con troller is mounted in a transverse guidewa Y of the bracket J (shown in dotted lines and it has a slot Z (also indicated in dotted lines) through which the feeler arm passes. lVhen the functional swing of the feeler arm is imparted to it the controller is slid later ally inward. controller is utilized to bring about weft replenishment as explained in detail in the aforesaid patent. After replenishment has been initiated, the feeler arm is restored to its normal position as described in the aforesaid patent.

The arrangement of the feeler teeth extending diagonally from the top to the bottom of the feeler is not broadly claimed herein since such arrangement constitutes the subject matter of my copending application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 401,943, filed August 7 1920.

I claim 1. A feeler arm having a plurality of re cesses near its rear end and a longitudinally extending groove connecting said recesses and terminating at the rear end of the arm,

This lateral movement of thesaid groove increasing in depth and width from the foremost recess to the rear end of the arm, in combination with a feeler tip consisting of resilient metal bent to form two legs straddling the rear end of the feeler arm and resiliently gripping the upper and lower faces thereof, one of said legs having on its inner face a plurality of inwardly projecting studs corresponding. in position to the recesses in the feeler arm and interlocking therewith, said studs being adapted to slide lengthwise along said groove in the feeler arm in attaching the tip to the arm.

2. A feeler arm having a plurality of recesses near its rear end and a longitudinally extending groove connecting said recesses and terminating at the rear end of the arm, said groove increasing in depth and width from the foremost recess to the rear end of the arm, in combination with a feeler tip having legs straddling the rear end of the feeler arm, one of sald legs having on its inner face a plurality of inwardly projecting studs corresponding in position to the recesses in the feeler arm and interlockin therewith, said studs being adapted to slide lengthwise along said groove in the feeler arm in attaching the tip to the arm.

3. A feeler arm having a plurality of recesses near its rear end in combination with a feeler tip straddling the rear end of the feeler arm, one ofsaid legs having on its inner face a plurality of inwardly projecting studs corresponding in position to the recesses in the feeler arm, and interlocking therewith.

4:. A feeler arm and a resilient detachable tip sprung into place upon the arm and locked thereto by mutually engaging coacting integral studs and recesses on said arm and tip.

5. A bent metal feeler tip having the bend at its rear feeling end, said bend having a plurality of teeth arranged in a horizontally extending arc of a circle, said teeth being constituted by diagonally extending slits in the bent rear end of the feeler tip, whereby diagonal teeth are formed having blunt rear ends and square edges.

6. A bent sheet metal feeler tip having the bend at its rear feeling end, said bend having a plurality of teeth arranged in a horizontally extending arc of a circle, said teeth being constituted by slits out diagonally in the bent rear end of the feeler tip.

' 7 A feeler arm and a resilient detachable tip straddling said arm and locked thereto by mutually engaging coacting integral studs and recesses.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

EDWARD S STIMPSON. 

